I have been shooting quite a bit here of late getting ready for and elk/mulie hunt in early September. I' ll be honest, in that this is my first true muzzle loader hunt and love shooting them at the range. I have heard several thoughts on " the first shot" ...you know, the one that counts :-). My question is do you shoot a " blank" load to remove any oils, etc? What I mean is one individual told me that a small charge with a patch before you load up for the field? Not sure if I asked this properly, but any feedback would be appreciated.

I' m shooting 100 gr 777 2F with a 348 gr Aero tip and 209' s.